Bloodlust
by Mistress Nahemah
Summary: Everyone's accepting that Karin sometimes has to bite Kenta, but now something weird is happening to him. Takes place after the series. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Well, I guess I'm back for a little bit? I watched this anime while staying at my grandmother's house, and promptly fell in love. However, I must say I was disappointed at the ending. It ended rather quickly, don't you think? Only 24 episodes? There could have been so much more to that story.

One thing that I was hoping for was that Karin would finally bite Kenta. I wanted him to become a vampire too. Maybe it's just because of my own desires to be a vampire. But when she finally did bite him, Kenta just recovered and went on his merry way. "No way!" I shouted (really, I did). "That flippin' sucks!"

Thus, this story was born.

So yeah, I'm back for a short. I know I haven't finished my other stories. I have a bad habit of just leaving things uncompleted. But I shall promise to go through with this. I don't think this story will end up being too long, so it should be rather easy to finish this. All the same, wish me luck! - Nahemah

Disclaimer for the entire story- This piece of literature belongs to me, but the characters and scenario belong to the companies that support the anime Karin.

1

Kenta closed his eyes and tilted his head back slightly as the sharp fangs dipped into his skin. He had gotten used to the feeling by now, and even started to enjoy the feeling. He'd learned that if he just relaxed and let her do her thing, it felt good. If he moved around too much, it started to hurt. He wrapped his arms tighter around the little vampire. Whenever he was around her, he felt happier. He didn't even need her to bite him.

She pulled away, wiping her mouth a bit and looking downcast. "I'm sorry, Kenta."

He smiled at her. "Don't worry about it," he replied cheerfully as he fixed the collar on his shirt to cover the bite marks. "Just don't wait until the last minute every time. We can't have you getting more nosebleeds." Kenta checked his watch. "Whoa, we've been out here for a while. Our manager probably thinks we're up to something."

Karin chuckled. "He's probably just thinking about how great it is to be young."

Kenta scratched his head and laughed. His neck was a little bit sore from all the bites he had gotten. Ever since Karin had first bitten him, he had received bites almost every day for almost a month. Not like he would complain about it, though. He was doing this for a dear friend. Maybe more than a friend. His cheeks became a light pink.

_Who am I kidding? _he thought to himself. Though technically he had already confessed his feelings, he hadn't taken any action with them. Ren's words still echoed in his head every time he thought of Karin. They lived on different time spans. He would age and fade away, but Karin would remain untouched by the currents of time. Even if they weren't together forever, the thought in his mind would plague him. Kenta wondered what Karin thought about it.

Julian's was busy that night. The two went back to their work diligently. Welcoming guests, taking their orders, bringing food, cleaning, and making sure the guests were as comfortable as possible. Waiting was much harder than it appeared. The two became absorbed in their tasks, only stopping to speak when they needed to ask a favor. Kenta didn't even have time to muse over his problem with Karin.

Eventually the flow of guests slowed to a stop, and they began to trickle out. The two began to close up the shop with a list of necessary chores, including whipping the seats and tables down, mopping the floors, locking the doors, and turning out the lights. The two walked into the kitchen when they were finished, where some food had been left out by the chef for them to grab, most likely leftovers or messed up orders. Kenta happily boxed up the food. His mom would appreciate the dinner. It was more than what they usually ate. At least for tonight they wouldn't have to eat whatever foods his mom had gotten at a discount price from the market.

After changing out of his uniform he waited outside of the building, enjoying the fresh air. The sun had just set, leaving the world in a state that wasn't quite light but not quite dark either. He held tightly onto his bags as he looked up at the stars. It wasn't long before Karin came out, also freshly changed out of her work uniform. "Sorry about the wait," she apologized with a smile.

It was Kenta's turn to grin. It never ceased to amaze him how beautiful Karin was in the darkness. She had a way of attracting the shadows, making her look like a predator that was just waiting to leap out of hiding. The whole vampire image really suited her. "It's all right. Ready to go?" She nodded cheerfully, and the two were on their way. Normally their walks home would be filled with chatter, but tonight they just enjoyed each other's silence.

-.-.-.-.-

"Wow!" Fumio exclaimed as she looked at the food Kenta had brought home. She instantly took it from Kenta's hands and began to heat it up again. "Would you mind setting the table, dear?"

"Sure." He opened a drawer and pulled out the necessary utensils and dishes. "How was work?" he asked, bracing for the worst. He was always prepared to hear that his mother had lost a job or was having difficulty finding a new one. Not like it made it easier to deal with in the end, though…

"Things are actually working out well," Fumio responded. "I never would have guessed that working in a clothing store would be where I ended up. I generally only see women in there. Naturally though, the clothes are so cute!"

Kenta smiled, sitting down at his side of the table as his mom put the now heated up food down. He clapped his hands together, quickly uttered a word of thanks for the food, then picked up his chopsticks and began to eat. It seemed like ages since he had eaten Karin's lunchbox, and his stomach was rumbling loudly. Kenta swallowed bite after bite with little time for breathing in between. Fumio sat down across from him, taking what she wanted but leaving the majority for her son, who seemed to be really starving. She grinned and watched him with amused eyes.

After what seemed like only five minutes to Kenta, he put the chopsticks down and stared at his now empty plate. It wasn't like him to be so gluttonous. "I'm sorry," he said to Fumio. "Did you get enough?"

She smiled and began to clear the table of dishes. "Yes, I grabbed what I could. Guess all that growing you're doing made you hungry?"

_Yes, it did, _he thought to himself. He had gone through enough food to satisfy at least three people. All that food could have been saved for other nights. Not that it had turned out to be that good. The flavoring had been mild, not the usual loud taste food from Julian's usually had. He had eaten enough of it though. He placed his hand over his stomach, willing it to keep from rumbling. _So why am I still so hungry?_

Kenta glanced at the clock. It was nine o'clock, about time he should start doing his homework. If he was going to be a model citizen then he had to study and get good grades. He forced his hunger to the back of his mind and got up to find his textbooks.

-.-.-.-.-

The electric clock Fumio had gotten at a marked down price flashed four o'clock, the red digits blinking over and over again. Kenta had been staring at the clock for an hour and twenty-six minutes exactly. For some reason he couldn't get back to sleep. He was just too full with energy, although his stomach was still empty.

He sat up reluctantly. Obviously he wasn't going to be getting any sleep soon. Quietly he got up from his bedding on the floor and got dressed in warm clothes. With the utmost care he slipped silently out of the small apartment and out into the dark winter night. _I'll be back soon, _he thought before taking off into a jog.

Despite the darkness Kenta knew exactly where he was going. The cold, biting to any other person walking the streets, didn't even bother him. He let his feet lead him into the park. During the day it was a cheery place, but it went through a transformation at night. Shadows appeared to move and play tricks, the wind whispered secrets, and every sound brought a thousand images to the mind. Kenta slowed to a walk here. It was at this very spot where he first saw Karin biting someone. At the time, he had thought that she was merely selling herself out to a man for an allowance, but she was really putting her blood in him. So many things were started on that night. If he hadn't been there at the exact time, he would never have gotten the chance to know Karin so closely. He couldn't resist the happy smile that crept on his face at the thought of her. He was hopelessly in love, and he couldn't deny it.

A sudden wave of dizziness nearly knocked him off his feet. He clutched at his heart, which was now beating rapidly. There was a ringing in his ears that just wouldn't go away. He sank to his knees as it grew harder and harder to breathe. His lungs just didn't want to open and let air in. _What's going on? _He thought in a panic. His fingers dug ravines in the bark of the tree. _Am I going to die here?_

"'Ey look, itsa poor bloke who kin hardly stand on his own two feets."

Kenta looked up slowly. A rather shambled looking young man was smiling down at him. The bags under his eyes told of many nights without sleep. The alcohol on his breath was heavy. At once Kenta recognized him as a man who had spent the night drowning his problems out. _Such laziness, _came a primitive and cruel voice from inside him. _Instead of working to solve the situation, he thinks he can make it go away with a few drinks?_

All reasonable thought was forgotten. Instinct took over. Kenta pounced.

1

WHEW! I'm so glad that's over. I was about to fall asleep through it, I swear! I feel like this isn't written very well. There wasn't a whole lot of action until the very last part. Actually, I don't think this piece will have all that much action in it. Nor will it be nearly as long as my other pieces. I'm thinking three chapters?

But what do you guys think? It's been a while since I stepped out of the shadows and revealed my artistic powers. Read and review, cause everyone knows vampires need love too! – Nahemah.


	2. Chapter 2

Well, I'm back. On to be writing the second installment of this small tale. The author's note obviously won't be as long as last time for I have nothing to say. I will say that the title of this story came to me after about five seconds of thinking. That means it's nowhere near good. So just bear with me on that one. I might think up a new name eventually.

Enjoy this latest installment of Bloodlust! –Nahemah

1

_What have I done?_

Kenta stared at the body before him. A little bit of blood trickled off of his chin. After a moment's time he wiped the blood away with the back of his hand, leaving a scarlet stain on his skin. He couldn't take his eyes away from the body that lay on the ground, barely moving and barely alive. Everything had happened so quickly. One moment he had felt worse than he'd ever felt in his life, then he saw this drunk, and then he just acted out of pure instinct. It had felt so good, sinking his teeth in and receiving warm blood as a treat. But now, afterwards, the reality of his actions had sunk in. _I've just sucked this guy's blood!_

"Erase his memory."

Kenta jumped. In her own silent, mysterious way, Karin's little sister had ended up beside him. He vaguely remembered her name… Anju, was it? She looked just as depressing as ever. "Erase his memory," she repeated, now looking up at him.

"H-how?" he stammered. "I've never done this before."

Without a word she held out her hand. Kenta watched as she emitted a yellow power that washed over the man's body. "Next time, don't take so much. A weaker person would have died from that much blood loss."

_Died from the blood loss? _Kenta took his head in his hands in disbelief. "Anju, what's happening to me? I'm human. I can't go around drinking blood."

"You _were _human," she corrected in her stoic voice. "Now you're a vampire."

Though he had halfway known it, the news still came as a blow to the gut. "I can't be a vampire! What about my mom? And school? And becoming a model citizen? How can I become a model citizen if I'm a vampire?"

Anju just stared at him. "Your primary concern is survival. You'll have to feed on humans to survive now. It would be best to figure out your blood preferen-"

He couldn't take it anymore. "Anju, how did this happen to me?"

She blinked away the interruption. "You've been letting Karin bite you, haven't you?"

Kenta fell silent, his hand snaking up to his neck where Karin had bitten him just the day before. He could still feel the holes where her fangs had pierced his skin, much like how his had pierced the skin of this poor person. His mind put two and two together. "So you're saying Karin finally changed me? Like that vampire hunter said?"

Anju nodded then looked up at the sky. "It'll be dawn soon," she said so quietly Kenta had to lean in to hear. What Anju said was true. The sky was steadily lightening. His mind traveled back to the time when Ren had come to talk to him. The sunlight had burnt his flesh despite the protection of several layers of clothes. _The wounds heal soon enough, _Ren's voice echoed through his head. _But we feel the pain._

"I'd better go," Kenta announced as he stared at the sky. When there was no reply he turned his focus back to the ground. There was no sign of Anju anywhere. "Anju?" he called out questionably. Still, there was no response. It was like she had never been there to begin with. Taking that as his cue he turned around and started to run home.

-.-.-.-.-

Kenta cracked the door open and peered in. His mother was still asleep on the floor; she hadn't noticed his disappearance at all. He breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped in and began to undress. The last thing he wanted was for his mother to worry. She had been so happy lately and he didn't want to take that away from her.

He put away his clothes and lied down on his mattress again. The digital clock read five fifty eight, and the sky was steadily turning lavender blue. Luckily his mattress was in the darkest part of the room. He didn't want to think what would happen when the sun finally hit him. Once again Ren's burned flesh came to mind. _I'll just skip school, _he thought to himself. _Who am I kidding, I can't skip school forever. Mom will notice something's wrong immediately. _His thoughts were in turmoil. Was it just him or was the room growing uncomfortably warm? Kenta cringed, pulling the covers up further on his body so that the only parts exposed were his eyes and his moppy hair. He watched the numbers on the clock change, dreading every moment.

Seven thirty three. Fumio stirred then woke. Usually she didn't sleep in, but all the stress from finding and keeping jobs had taken its toll on her. She made a soft surprised noise when she saw Kenta lying awake, yet immobile. "Good morning, dear," she greeted cheerfully as she sat up. Kenta mumbled his reply. "What are you doing still in bed? Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?"

"I- I don't think I'll go today," Kenta said, retreating even further under his covers.

Fumio stood from her makeshift bed. "Are you not feeling well?"

"Yeah… I've got a stomach ache." _Well, it's not a complete lie, _Kenta thought as the feeling of terror in his gut grew as the day got brighter.

Fumio stood and walked over to the windows. "That's fine, but you don't want to miss too much school. You'll fall behind."

Kenta looked up just in time to see Fumio's hand on the string that would open the blinds. If she opened the blinds all the light would fall directly on him, and then… He popped up like a jack-in-the-box, ready to lunge and stop her from opening the blinds no matter what. But it was too late. Fumio opened the blinds as soon as Kenta was steady on the floor. The light came flooding in. Kenta turned his head and closed his eyes from its great radiance. He raised his hands in a feeble attempt to ward off the light that would soon start burning the very skin off his bones. _So this is how I'm going to die… killed by my own mother who opened the stupid blinds. _He waited for the pain he knew was coming.

Only the pain never came. After bracing for a good ten seconds Kenta opened his eyes. His mother was staring at him like he was crazy. "Are you sure its just a stomach ache?" she asked in confusion.

Kenta looked down at his hands. They were completely covered with sunlight. Oddly enough, they weren't burning. But vampires burned. Which meant… "So it was all just a dream," he concluded under his breath. He smiled at his mom. "You're right, I shouldn't fall to far behind the others. We have a test coming up in English, and I want to pass. I'll go get ready for school now."

Fumio just watched in confusion as Kenta went off to ready himself for school. In record time Kenta had bathed, dressed, gathered all his stuff, and grabbed a piece of fruit for breakfast. He slipped on his shoes and ran out cheerfully, wishing his mom luck at work before leaving.

Forget running- Kenta practically skipped down the street on his way to school. All the sense of fear was gone. Everything had been a dream. One horrifying and confusing dream.

He made it onto the school grounds just as the gates were closing, but that didn't stop him from running. There were only a few moments before the bell rang, and his homeroom class was several flights up. He dashed up the stairs, raced around the corners, and made it into the classroom and to his seat just as the bell was ringing. Luckily, the teacher hadn't made it to the classroom yet. The students turned to look at him with confused faces. Kenta was always on time. He wasn't the type of student who'd show up at the last possible moment. He hadn't even changed his shoes this morning. The teacher arrived not soon after he did, and the attention turned from Kenta to the lessons for the day.

Lunchtime came quickly enough to the busy students. Everyone brought out their bento boxes or their lunches they had purchased from the school. Seeing all of the food his fellow students had, as always, made his stomach grumble. Sure, he had Karin's bento to look forward to, but there was something about a bento made by a loving mother that put it above anything else. He stood from his desk and left the classroom on his way to the roof where Karin was waiting for him.

Kenta hadn't made it far out of the classroom when his head began to swim. He placed his hand on the wall to support himself. The pounding of his heart increased. _This is too familiar, _he thought to himself in terror. _So last night was…_

"Hey, Usui!"

He turned at the sound of his name, breathing a bit heavy. One of his classmates came up to him with a smile. "Are you alright?" his classmate asked with false concern in his face.

Kenta tried to straighten, rubbing his head. "I'm fine. What do you need?"

His classmate laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I was wondering if I can copy your homework for history today. I forgot to do mine and I figured that you're a pretty nice guy. Not to mention you're really smart."

_What is this? _Kenta thought as he looked at the other boy. _Just looking at him makes me feel so… hungry. _He grinned. "That's no problem," he replied. "Come with me for a second though?"

"Sure thing! You're a pal, Usui." The boy followed Kenta diligently, chattering idly about this and that. Kenta nodded and smiled when the time seemed appropriate but the majority of his attention was on the surroundings. He stopped in a stairwell that was conveniently not seeing much traffic. Instinct took over. Without a moment's hesitation Kenta pushed the boy against the wall and covered his mouth so that he wouldn't scream. He quickly slid his fangs into the boy's neck, delighting in the feel of them piercing the flesh and sinking in. The blood that filled his mouth was sweet tasting and refreshing. He had to tear himself away from the now unconscious boy, Anju's words echoing in his mind. The last thing he wanted was a dead body to deal with.

The boy's body sank unceremoniously to the floor. _I did it again, _Kenta thought. Obviously last night hadn't been a dream; he was still a vampire, and this proved it. _I guess I should figure out how to erase his memory. _How had Anju done it? Kenta, obvious to how dumb he looked, held out his hand awkwardly. _Now what? _Without meaning for it to happen a yellow light came from his hand, engulfing his classmate's body. After a few moments it faded away. Kenta let his hand fall back to his side, unsure if the job had been done correctly. A movement outside of the window caught his attention. He looked up just in time to see a bat fly away. Anju had been watching him.

Chatter reached his ears. Some girls were coming down the stairs. Panicking, Kenta ran the down the rest of the flight and ducked into a conveniently located broom closet. He could easily hear the conversation the girls were having, even from his position some distance away.

"That chemistry test was horrible."

"You're telling me. I totally failed that."

"Hey, who's that?"

"Oh my god, he's unconscious!"

_They've found the body, _Kenta realized. At least the body had fallen in a natural way. The students would think that he had merely fallen down the stairs and bumped his head. Kenta listened to the sound of commotion as a crowd of students formed and the unconscious boy was taken away to the hospital. He gave a sigh of relief as the stairwell emptied. He slipped out of the broom closet and walked back to his classroom deep in thought.

-.-.-.-.-

"Hey Kenta, did you hear about the boy that was found unconscious today at school?"

Kenta tried his best not to drop the plates he was carrying. "Uh, no," he replied nervously. "What happened?"

Karin shrugged, leaning on her broom. "No one knows. At first we thought he had fallen down the stairs, but the nurse didn't see a single scratch on him. It was around the entire school, I don't know how you could have missed it." She stopped and looked at her friend. "Where were you during lunch, anyway? I had to give your bento away."

"I had some homework to finish," Kenta lied quickly. "I didn't have a chance to last night."

"I see… you'll never guess what he did though. As soon as he came too he jumped up and ran off, saying that he had work to do and couldn't be slacking off. I wouldn't consider being unconscious to be slacking off, would you?"

"N-no," he stammered. In truth, he was wondering if maybe it had something to do with him biting the other boy. Maybe biting him had affected him the same way Karin had affected Kenta's mom. _There's so much I don't understand, _he realized. _I need to find someone to talk with about all of this. But who?_

"Brother!"

Kenta looked up at Karin's exclamation. Ren had just walked into the restaurant, some pretty lady hooked onto his arm. The vampire grinned as Karin ran up to meet him. "Well if it isn't my dumb little sister. Table for two, please."

"Why, you…" Karin, her feathers obviously ruffled, gritted her teeth and showed Ren and his escort to a booth near the window. Kenta watched as she took his order then ran back into the kitchen to give it to the chef. On her way she bumped into one of the other waiters who worked there, causing him to drop the dishes he was holding. Everything landed on the floor with a loud clatter.

Kenta couldn't help but chuckle as Karin panicked, searching madly for a mop to clean the mess up. He took a step forward, intending to help her, when a hand landed on his shoulder. "I need to have a talk with you," Ren said. "Now, while my idiot sister is distracted."

He nodded and allowed himself to be led out of the back door and into the alley behind Julian's. Ren turned to look at him slowly. "You're being sloppy," he said with no preamble. "Leaving your prey out there where everyone can find him? Have a bit more class, won't you?"

Kenta blinked in amazement. "Did Anju tell you?"

"The entire thing. You're one of us now. But you can walk in the sunlight. You're a stranger case than Karin. I've been researching ever since Anju told me. Up until now, that is. I thought you might need a few pointers before you get caught red handed. Or should I say red fanged?"

Ren smiled at his own joke. Kenta sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know what happened. Karin's been biting me all this time, and only now am I turning into a... a…"

"A vampire?" Ren suggested.

"Yeah, that. I don't know what to tell her."

"Why not the truth?"

"I can't tell her the truth, what'll she say?"

Ren shrugged and looked at his watch. "She'd probably scream in disbelief for a bit but then calm down and realize that there's no helping it."

"And what about my mother? How will she feel if she knew her own son was… was…"

"A vampire?" Ren suggested again.

"Yeah. She'd think I was a freak. Well, I am a freak, but that doesn't mean I don't want my mother to love me."

"If anything it would make things a bit easier on her. You're one less mouth to feed. Or does food still taste good to you?"

"It tastes okay, but it doesn't do anything. I'm as hungry afterwards as I was before."

"Don't let yourself get too hungry now," Ren said, adjusting the collar of his jacket. "You'll starve as well as any human. Don't worry," Ren said as he patted him on the shoulder. "I'll find some answers for you soon. But for now, try not to get yourself caught."

2

Holy crapamoly. This chapter took entirely TOO LONG to write. Like, I knew what I wanted to happen, I just couldn't figure out how to write what I was seeing in my head. Though that last bit with Ren came out of nowhere. Inspiration at 6:30 in the morning!

Seriously though, have you ever woken up at 6:30 and just listened? Maybe it's different in the city (I live in the suburbs), but it's so relaxing. And it was raining too, which made it all the better for me. Not to mention I had the Zephyr Song stuck in my head. Mix that with the sound of rain and crickets and its like Dreamland.

As for why I was waking up at 6:30, well, work is a bitch.

I want to thank Sealeena and anime-maniac-1001 for reviewing. You guys gave me the encouragement to finally sit down and write something! Because of you, this chapter can live to see the light of day! Three cheers for you two!

Goodness gracious, I talk too much. Well, over and out!

-Nahemah.


End file.
